Legal Education Reform after Carnegie: Bringing Law-in-Action into the Law School Classroom

Conference hosted by the UW Law School and the Institute for Legal Studies, October 22-23, 2010

Intellectual Overview:This conference takes its impetus from a current
wave of interest in reforming legal education.Recent publication of both the Carnegie Report and a statement of Best
Practices for Legal Education have drawn attention to innovative pedagogical
efforts in law schools across the country. We continue the conversation in this
conference, focusing in particular on how the law works in action, and on how a
law-in-action perspective can inform our teaching. This is a unique moment in
the history of the legal academy, when interest in pedagogical reform is arising
simultaneously with renewed attention to social science. At the same time, many
law teachers are experimenting with new teaching methods designed to bring law
to life in the classroom. Today there is the potential for a kind of synergy
not seen since the rise of legal realism and the push for clinical education in
law schools.
Carnegie Report authors join law school deans and law
professors at a two-day conference in Madison,
home of the law-in-action approach with a longstanding tradition of combining
social science and law. But we seek to highlight the advances at other
institutions as well: law schools like Indiana,
Harvard, and Southwestern, which have taken major steps to integrate knowledge
of the real world into their curricula.
This is just a beginning -- we invite you to share
your wisdom and ideas as we continue the process of rethinking legal education,
working together.Stay tuned for plans
to launch a national website, hosted by the American Bar Foundation, where
examples and ideas from all law schools will be welcomed.
Location: Room 325 at the PyleCenter, 702 Langdon Street, Madison.
Timeline:
Friday, 10/22: Coffee 9:30 am; Sessions
10:00-5:30, followed by reception and dinner for participants and registered guests.
Saturday, 10/23: Coffee 8:30 am; Sessions 9:00-4:00(followed by post-conference session for planning group steering committee
4:15-5:30)
Sponsors: The UW Law School
and the Institute for Legal Studies.
Program Chair: Elizabeth Mertz, John and Rylla Bosshard Professor of
Law at the University of WisconsinLawSchool,
and Senior Research Fellow at the American Bar Foundation.
No Fee but Registration Required: Attendance is
limited to faculty, academic staff, law students, and visiting scholars. If you
are interested in attending this event, please email Pam Hollenhorst, Associate Director,
Institute for Legal Studies, including
your full name and institutional affiliation, indicating which days or half days
you wish to attend. Registrations will be accepted until we reach capacity.